Summary

• The most terrifying movie villains are the ones who got away with it, and it never feels right to imagine such a force of evil still roaming free.
• Many great movies have villains who win, but for them to truly get away with it, they can't be arrested or killed despite fulfilling their plan.
• Characters like Hannibal Lecter, Keyser Söze, and Anton Chigurh are some of the scariest villains who managed to escape the consequences of their actions.

There's no more terrifying of a movie villain than the ones who got away with it. Decades of cinema have graced audiences with some unbelievable villains, from characters like Darth Vader to the Joker to Michael Myers who make their respective films click together. But Luke Skywalker defeated Vader, and the Joker found himself in jail at the end of The Dark Knight. It's the villains who got away with it that truly strike a nerve, as, even though it's fiction, it never feels quite right to imagine such a force of evil still roaming free.

There are many great movies where the bad guy wins, but for a villain to truly have gotten away with it, it wouldn't count if they were arrested or killed despite fulfilling their plan. John Doe in Se7en carried out his goals, but he died in the process. The Joker proved his point about Gotham City for a time, but he was locked up at the end of the film. A character defeated in a later sequel also wouldn't count, such as Darth Sidious in Revenge of the Sith.

10 Hannibal Lecter

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

Hannibal Lecter is the scariest villain to imagine being out in the world somewhere, and The Silence of the Lambs led to his escape. The sequel film, Hannibal, which saw him going against Clarice Sterling again, also eventually has the titular character making his escape. Hannibal is imprisoned in The Silence of the Lambs for being a murderous cannibal, and his escape is bloody and gruesome. But the film doesn't end with him paranoid in hiding. It ends with him casually approaching his next victim for dinner in the Bahamas.

RELATED: 20 Chilling Hannibal Lecter Quotes That Will Give You Goosebumps

9 Ozymandias

Watchmen (2009)

Watchmen offers a bleak take on the superhero mythos, and Zack Snyder's adaptation sees a level of destruction uncommon in the genre, with the villain Ozymandias killing upwards of 40 million people. Ozymandias seeks to prevent all-out nuclear war, believing the only solution is to present Dr. Manhattan as a mutual enemy to the world. He carries out this destruction, and Dr. Manhattan is blamed and forced to exile himself. The plan works, forging world peace and forcing the film's heroes to stay quiet about it, or risk breaking that peace.

8 Keyser Söze

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Usual Suspects delivers a fantastic last-minute twist, revealing Kevin Spacey's character to be the mythical Keyser Söze. He poses as Verbal Kint for almost the entire film, acting as the sole survivor of a crime who's left to share his perspective on what happened. Under the guise of Kint, Söze forges his explanation to the police on the spot, managing to be so convincing that he's freed by the end. Before the police realize what's happened, Söze has disappeared into the world.

7 Amy Dunne

Gone Girl (2014)

Amy Dunne is one of the most haunting characters of the 21st century. Her cunning and deceptive behavior completely subverts what a viewer might expect the David Fincher film to be after the first half hour. The ending of Gone Girl sees Amy Dunne get away with murdering Desi Collings and return to living with Nick Dunne, despite his infidelity, so she can imprison him in a life where he helps raise their baby. No matter what he thinks and knows about Amy, Nick feels responsible for the unborn child and will stay with Amy.

6 Lord Summerisle

The Wicker Man (1973)

The 1973 horror classic follows Sergeant Neil Howie journey to the remote Scottish Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a child. There, he finds the charismatic Lord Summerisle, played by the great Christopher Lee. Lord Summerisle manages to stay steps ahead of Howie, eventually leading to his sacrifice at the end of the film. The inhabitants of Summerisle get away with the murder and continue in their practices.

5 Anton Chigurh

No Country For Old Men (2007)

Anton Chigurh is one of the greatest villains in movie history, but he's also one of the most unique. No Country For Old Men is a bleak take on the Western genre, with a story about a lawman struggling to keep up against modern evil and violence. Chirgurh represents that evil. He's an enigmatic, larger-than-life force that seemingly can't be stopped, eventually walking away with the money, and the only police officer who might've followed him decides to retire instead of continuing his pursuit.

4 Tom Ripley

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

For over two hours of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley just keeps getting away with being evil in his pursuit of being a "somebody." Tom beats Dickie to death and then steals his identity, traveling around Europe posing as him. Through clever schemes and a fair amount of luck, Tom Ripley manages to get away with everything, even claiming one more life to cover his tracks just before the film ends.

3 Mr. Potter

It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

The villain of the Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Potter withholds money which almost results in George Bailey being sent to prison and losing his business. He's not the mastermind super villain like many others, but his everyday unpleasantness can make the audience hate him even more, wanting to see some retribution for his actions. Instead, Mr. Potter simply gets away with it and carries on acting the way he does.

2 The Castevets

Rosemary's Baby

Minnie and Roman Castevet are the elderly neighbors of Rosemary in Rosemary's Baby. Despite starting friendly, the pair and their cult plan to manipulate Rosemary into giving birth to the Antichrist. They even persuade her husband to the scheme in return for success in show business. Rosemary is tricked into eventually doing as they say, despite her best efforts to prevent it. Rosemary's Baby is a terrifying film, and knowing the Castevets succeeded and suffered no consequences adds to that terror.

1 Noah Cross

Chinatown (1974)

The Chinatown is so effective and memorable because Noah Cross gets away with everything, proving that systemic corruption wins. Despite the best efforts of Jack Gittes, he doesn't have the status to make a serious claim against the businessman and has to accept the hopelessness of the situation. The corruption is far bigger than him and what he's equipped to deal with as a private detective. Noah Cross is essentially a stand-in for any wealthy industrialist who uses their power to cover illegal activity, and the realism of Chinatown makes it chilling to think about.